#classical period

Terracotta plaque with Odysseus returning to Penelope

Greek (Melian), c. 460-450 B.C.

@Louvre Museum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons / Inv. Louvre AGER Bj 2152.

(English / Español / Italiano)

It resembles a contemporary installation: an oxidised bronze cone, two 'wings' that cut through space, a golden crown of leaves. It is a pilos helmet with a crest holder: light and metal, power and beauty in the same profile.

Between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, between late classicism and the Hellenistic period, Greek armour evolved towards lighter and more spectacular forms. The pilos (conical cap) replaced more cumbersome models; the vertical crest holder allowed for monumental crests or insignia that amplified the warrior's presence in parades and battle. The gold crown with plant motifs evoked honours and sacred offerings: virtue, rank and memory coexisted in a single object.

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El casco con alas, siglos IV-III a. C. Musée du Louvre, Paris – Département des Antiquités Grecques

Parece una instalación contemporánea: un cono de bronce oxidado, dos «alas» que atraviesan el espacio, una corona de hojas doradas. Es un casco pilos con porta-cimera: luz y metal, poder y belleza en un mismo perfil.

Entre los siglos IV y III a. C., entre el clasicismo tardío y la época helenística, el armamento griego evoluciona hacia formas más ligeras y espectaculares. El pilos (casco cónico) sustituye a los modelos más voluminosos; el porta-cimera vertical permite crestas monumentales o insignias que amplifican la presencia del guerrero en desfiles y batallas. La corona de oro con láminas vegetales evoca premios honoríficos y ofrendas sagradas: en un solo objeto conviven la virtud, el rango y la memoria.

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L'elmo con le ali, IV - III sec. a.C. Musée du Louvre, Paris – Département des Antiquités Grecques

Sembra un’installazione contemporanea: un cono di bronzo ossidato, due “ali” che fendono lo spazio, una corona d’oro a foglie. È un elmo a pilos con porta-cimiero: luce e metallo, potere e bellezza nello stesso profilo.

Fra IV–III sec. a.C., tra tardo classicismo ed età ellenistica, l’armamento greco evolve verso forme più leggere e scenografiche. Il pilos (calotta conica) sostituisce modelli più ingombranti; il porta-cimiero verticale permette creste monumentali o insegne che amplificano la presenza del guerriero in parate e battaglia. La corona d’oro a lamine vegetali richiama premi onorifici e offerte sacre: in un solo oggetto convivono virtù, rango e memoria.

Archaeologists have uncovered a well-preserved Byzantine residential city in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis. The city follows a planned street layout. At the heart of the settlement stands a Christian basilica built in the mid-fourth century CE. The church overlooks one of the city’s main streets and likely served as the center of both worship and community life. Archaeologists uncovered a wide range of buildings linked to daily living. The settlement includes mud-brick houses, bread ovens, kitchens, grain-grinding tools, two watchtowers, and a thick-walled fortress. These finds show a well-organized community with homes, food production, public buildings, and defenses. Two buildings stand out among the homes. One belonged to a church deacon named Tisos and dates to the second half of the fourth century CE. Another belonged to a man named Tabibos and dates to the early fourth century. Researchers believe Tabibos’s house first served as a house church before the larger basilica was built. The building offers rare evidence of how Christian worship developed in the oasis. The excavation also produced many objects used in everyday life. Researchers found cooking and storage pottery, bottles for oils and perfumes, lamps, and stone tools used for grinding grain. These items show how people prepared food, stored supplies, and managed daily household tasks. One of the most important finds is a group of nearly 200 ostraca, broken pieces of pottery used for writing. The texts are written in both Coptic and Greek. They record sales, purchases, business deals, personal letters, and other records from daily life. The team also recovered a large collection of well-preserved bronze coins. Many carry portraits of Byzantine emperors, Latin inscriptions, and Christian symbols. Gold coins dating to the reign of Emperor Constantius II, who ruled from CE 337 to 361, help date the settlement and place its main period of occupation within the Byzantine era. The site now ranks among the most important Byzantine settlements found in Egypt’s Western Desert.

Archaeologists working at the ancient city of Apollonia on Libya’s eastern Mediterranean coast have rediscovered a rare Greek hippodrome and identified a previously unknown theater overlooking the sea. Vincent Michel, director of the French Archaeological Mission in Libya, described the Greek racecourse as an exceptional scientific find. According to Michel, no comparable hippodrome is currently known elsewhere in Cyrenaica or across the wider Mediterranean region. Hippodromes were large open-air venues used primarily for horse and chariot racing. They also served as major civic gathering places, where sporting competition, public ceremony and political display could converge. Unlike stone theaters, however, ancient racecourses often leave limited archaeological traces. Their long tracks were usually defined by earthworks, boundary walls and architectural features that could disappear beneath later construction or centuries of sediment. The Apollonia hippodrome may therefore provide unusually important evidence for organized sport and public entertainment in Greek North Africa. Michel said the structure could lead researchers to reconsider Apollonia’s position within the ancient Mediterranean. The mission also announced the discovery of a theater directly overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Apollonia already contains a well-known theater constructed near the shoreline. The newly identified structure therefore appears to represent an additional performance venue rather than a re-examination of the city’s familiar coastal monument. Apollonia developed as the harbor of Cyrene, the major Greek city founded inland by settlers from the Aegean island of Thera during the seventh century BC. Located roughly 16 kilometers from Cyrene, the port connected the agricultural and urban centers of the Green Mountain region with maritime routes across the eastern Mediterranean. Initially dependent on Cyrene, Apollonia became independent toward the end of the Hellenistic period. It later formed part of the Cyrenaican Pentapolis, the network of five leading cities that also included Cyrene, Ptolemais, Taucheira and Berenice. The city continued to prosper under Roman rule and remained occupied into Late Antiquity. Its surviving remains include defensive walls, bath complexes, harbor installations, Christian basilicas, residential areas and religious spaces. Research in the Kallikrateia district previously revealed 19 rock-cut altars and numerous religious objects dating to the fourth and third centuries BC. Archaeologists also uncovered a partially rock-cut building that may have been used for offerings or sacrifices. These finds show that sacred activity occupied an important place in the urban landscape long before Apollonia became a major Roman and Byzantine center. Apollonia’s coastal position made it a successful harbor, but it has also left the ruins vulnerable to erosion and changing sea levels. According to the French Ministry of Culture, approximately one-third of the ancient city is now underwater.

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient merchant ship carrying hundreds of amphorae off the Greek island of Andros, shedding new light on maritime trade during the late Classical period. Initial surveys revealed about 600 to 650 amphorae scattered around the wreck site, one of the most important underwater discoveries in the Aegean in recent years. The amphorae date to the late 5th and early 4th centuries BC, placing the shipwreck within the late Classical period. Archaeologists also recovered part of a lead anchor stock and identified several stones that may have formed part of the vessel’s ballast. Researchers believe the find will enhance understanding of commercial networks and maritime navigation in the Aegean during the late Classical era. Further investigation is expected to provide additional information about the ship’s cargo, its route and its place of origin.

The highly controversial bill of handing over the management of Greece’s Cultural Heritage to a private company was approved at the Parliament late on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The bill entitled “management of cultural heritage, protection of artworks and restructuring of the Organization for the Management and Development of Cultural Resources” passed with the votes of ruling neo-liberal government of New Democracy, while all opposition parties voted against it. According to opposition parties, the legislation paves the way for the privatization of archaeological sites and monuments and handing over archaeological sites and monuments to private interests. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni rejected these accusations, saying at the Parliament “under no circumstances does this bill affect ownership issues. Ownership of monuments remains entirely with the Greek state, exactly as stipulated by the Constitution, and our cultural heritage continues to be fully protected by archaeological law.” Although the political management of cultural heritage is a constitutionally guaranteed state obligation, the ND government is promoting the establishment of the “Hellenic Heritage Organisation SA”, a public limited liability company that will manage, without substantial public control, the movable and immovable property of the Ministry of Culture and all income from tickets, shops, refreshments, exact copies, publications. The planned concession is initially for 50 years with the possibility of renewal for another 50 years.

Sources:

Archaeology News Online Magazine

arkeonews.net

Heritage Daily

Ancient Arms and Armor

at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Classical Period of music - an era that lasted from approximately 1730 to 1820, although variations on it extended well into the middle of the 19th century.

Classical period composers and performers came from Europe, but it did not take long for the music to find its way to European colonies around the globe.

Many composers and musicians were based in the Austrian capital of Vienna, which was the musical center of Europe during the time period.

Musicologists and casual music fans use the general term "classical music" to describe the work of composers ranging from J.S. Bach to Igor Stravinsky to Philip Glass. The Classical period, though, is a specific era in music history that spanned much of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Characteristics of Classical Period Music

Important forms of the Classical period include the string quartet, opera (including opera buffa and opera seria), trio sonata, symphony (traditionally written in sonata form), string quartet, and solo concertos for a variety of instruments. These musical forms have several elements in common.

Simplicity: Compared to the Baroque period music that preceded it, Classical period music places greater emphasis on simplicity, tonal harmony, single-line melodies, and enlarged ensembles. Unlike the extravagant melodies and ornamentations of high Baroque music, the new style of music framed somewhat simple melodies and buttressed them with large ensembles. Melodies could be appropriated from folk music and arranged to produce musical development with various modulations in tonality, tempo, and dynamics. This trend would only expand during the Romantic period, which followed the Classical era.

Classicism: The beginning and middle of the eighteenth century showed a surge in a stylistic movement known as Classicism, whose adherents revered Classical antiquity, including the works of early fifth-century Greek artists and the architecture of Classical Greece. Admiration for the art of Classical antiquity manifested in the musical taste of the eighteenth-century Classical era. The standard musical forms that dominated the musical compositions of the Classical period aimed to embrace order, simplicity, strength, and a celebration of humanity—all of which aligned with a reverence for Classical Greece.

Increased accessibility: During the Classical period, many composers still worked in the courts of aristocrats, but public concerts were commonplace throughout Europe, which allowed members of the middle classes to partake in the musical forms. This made Classical era music somewhat more egalitarian than much of Baroque music, which was often presented as chamber music exclusively for upper-class audiences.

Instruments of the Classical Period